Catapult

Jim Paul. Catapult: Harry and I Build a Siege Weapon. New York : Villard 1991. Print.

First Sentences:

It had occurred to me that holding an old rock might be like looking at the stars.

Description:

I first read Jim Paul's Catapult: Harry and I Build a Siege Weapon when it was published in 1991 (can that really be 35 years ago?) and was very much taken by it. When an article appeared recently in the New York Times Book Review section that revisited this book, I decided to dip into this serious/farcical memoir again.

 

The book details the trials and tribulations of two men trying to build a catapult to launch stones from abandoned military fortification bunker on the cliff side of the Headlands into the San Francisco Bay. Why? Just because it struck them as something to do. One man was an incompetent dreamer, one an irascible skilled builder. Surely, this pair will have an easy time of such a simple project.

 

Got your attention yet? 

 

Author Jim Paul, after finding a billion-year-old pink quartzite rock the size of a grapefruit, got it into his head that this rock needed to be hurled in a magnificent manner...such as with a catapult. This idea intrigued him in theory, helping him to convince his reluctant friend Harry to assist (i.e., design and construct) such a machine. 

 

Armed with a small grant from a local art center, they men researched what a catapult even is or was in olden days. The grant gave them a deadline of three months to build and then employ a catapult to hurl rocks off the San Francisco cliff into the sea. 

 

Two catches: since Federal law forbid bringing weapons onto their lands, Paul had to agree to only launch "fake rocks," a tidbit he kept from Harry who would wash his hands of the project if the catapult was not authentic enough to hurl actual stones. The second grant restriction was there had to be a follow-up public lecture to outline and summarize the project and launch, a notion that terrified Harry who was afraid of both public speaking, but conversely demanded to be included in the presentation out of fear of possibly being given lesser credit. Again, what could go wrong in this scenario?

 

The book details their search for what design their catapult should take, settling on the crossbow style that shot projectiles with immense force, resembling a horizontal crossbow. Now to build one. During the construction phase, they find themselves dealing with various backstreet and polished parts dealers who trafficked in springs, steel, wire, wood beams, welding, etc. 

 

Author Paul also delves into carefully researched history of such related topics as the origins of catapults, Archimedes, Alexander the Great, and the influences these had on the world: making castle walls obsolete and empires possible; the development of steel; and the construction, purpose, and effectiveness of the San Francisco Headlands military barricades where they would test their catapult.

 

The pressure builds as the deadline approaches. Their hunt for obscure but necessary jury-rigged parts and design changes as well as their personal relationships with each other and their families rising to the forefront of their project. Will they meet the deadline? Will the launch be successful? How about that lecture? And what happens when the project actually is completed?

 

A really enjoyable about the process to make a wacky dream become a reality. Every step was new to them, from design to parts, to labor, to testing (if they were ever even to construct a model).

 

I loved their passion, their frustrations with the progress and each other, their discoveries in hidden supply stores, the people they met, and their purposeful, dogged strides toward their goal. A wonderful, inspiring, funny, historically edifying tale well worth your time to read.

  

[If this book interests you, be sure to check out:]

 Hutchison, Patrick. Cabin: Off the Grid with a Clueless Craftsman.

One man tries to salvage his dilapidated family cabin, despite knowing virtually nothing of carpentry (Previously reviewed here.)

  

Happy reading.

Fred

[P.S. Click here to browse over 500 more book recommendations by subject or title and read the introduction to The First Sentence Reader.]